When Love Comes from Love
by aries03
Summary: When her dear friend passes away, he makes arrangements for someone he found fitting to take his place. Of course, neither knew of his intentions at the time. He knew they would make each other happy. He knew that they had the potential for love. sam/cam
1. Prologue

She slumped down on her couch in pure emotional and physical exhaustion. The funeral had been today, and she had seen one of her dearest friends put to rest. The news of his passing had been a complete and utter shock everyone. Myocardial infarction probably due to the large amount of stress that came with the job over the years. Since she had heard that news, she had been in a sort of daze. Now, she stares down at the envelope in her hand.

A lawyer had presented her with the envelope after the funeral, stating that it was part of his last will and testament for her to receive it. She could only imagine what that envelope could contain, and she hadn't quite found the courage to open it until now. She took a deep breath and ripped it open as quickly as possible, figuring it would be like a band-aid and would hurt less that way. Much to her surprise, it was just a letter.

_Sam,_

_Over all my years of service, you were the nearest and dearest to my heart. Somehow, despite our differences, we had etched our way into an eternal friendship. We fought side by side, laughed side by side, and cried side by side. Daniel and Teal'c held a special place in my heart, as well, but with you it was different. Our bond was so deep that we didn't even need words to communicate what we were feeling. I have no doubt that I loved you, Samantha Carter, and I hope, at some level, you held some love for me, too._

_However, if you are reading this, then you have just attended my funeral. In a way, it breaks my heart because I promised that I would be there for you always. Although I might not be able to keep that promise physically, know that I am with you in your memories. You are a brilliant woman, way smarter than I could of ever hoped to be, and you have a beautiful personality when you let others see it. I have no doubt that you will find someone to love you as much as I have, and know that when that happens, I will be smiling for you._

_Take care of yourself. Be careful to watch you six. Don't let the stress of the job ruin your chance at having a personal life and always listen to your heart. _

_Sincerely,_

_Gen. Jack O'Neill_

That was all it took for the floodgates to open. She couldn't stop the overwhelming grief from completely washing over her. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. They were supposed to have gotten that chance at that happily ever after. After everything they had been through,didn't they deserve at least that?

She heard the knock on the door, but she didn't have the strength left to get up and answer it. However, whoever it was must have been determined and found that she didn't lock the door behind her, because she heard the door creaking open.

"Oh, Sam."

She felt his arms wrap around her in support, and she had to admit, the contact was actually quite comforting. She couldn't bring herself to say anything, though. The tears were still too strong. It was him who did the talking, and what Cam said was the most shocking of all.

"A lawyer gave me a letter from Jack after the funeral today. I thought it was a little strange because I hardly knew the man, but I read it anyways. In it, he gave me very clear directions that I was to take care of you always because he would no longer be able to. He told me to get my six over here right away because he knew you would need me to. He must have really loved you, Sam."


	2. Chapter 1

Two months had passed since the funeral, and life had mostly formed a new routine. There were still those odd times when Sam would check her email, expecting there to be a note in the inbox from him, to her own dismay. She honestly was doing the best she could. Her friends helped her out the most, especially Cameron.

Cam took the note from Jack very seriously. He knew that there had to be a reason that Jack had been so adamant that he personally look after Sam, so that's what he did. He took her out to dinner at least once a week to give her a chance to vent her feelings. He would send her emails that he knew would make her laugh. He sat through countless stories of the General while she did her best to work her feelings out. All in all, he was just plain there for her.

It was mid December. The park in Colorado Springs was all decorated in lights of all different shapes and colors. They had just finished their weekly dinner and had decided to take a nice little stroll. I mean, it's only once a year when the world seems quite this magical. Cam didn't know if it was the romantic scenery or the wine from dinner, but he felt something inside of him snap. Before he even knew what he was thinking, he was kissing her soft lips. She must have been shocked, but she didn't fight it. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him in a daze. When he was running out of air, he realized what in the world was actually going on, and he pulled apart from her.

"Oh my God, Sam. I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay. Really. It is."

But even as the words were coming out of her mouth, her eyes were filling up with tears. She liked what was happening but was confused by it all at the same time. The conflict of emotions was just a little too much for her.

"Sam...really...I'm sorry...please don't cry."

She buried herself in his chest, and her cold tears were stinging in the December air. It took her a good ten minutes to regain her composure.

"I'm sorry, Cam. I thought I wanted this. I really did, but now I just don't know what I want."

"Really, Sam. I'm okay with that. I love just being your friend. I really don't know what came over me."

"No, it's not that. I _like _you; I just don't know if its for the right reasons. I don't want you to get hurt because my heart was still healing. The fact is, you remind me so much of him, and until I straighten that out in my head, I can't see you like this anymore."

Before he had time to stop her, she ran off towards her car on the outskirts of the park. He couldn't believe what had just happened...how utterly stupid his actions were, even if they were unintentional. He didn't know what to do. He knew that at the moment, he couldn't really run after her, even though his heart wanted so badly to, so he did the next best thing. He called Daniel.

She had just settled down in front of the fireplace with a glass of hot chocolate when she heard someone knocking on the door. She thought that it might be Cameron, and she thought she might want to apologize. She felt a pang of sadness and relief as she opened the door to find Daniel.

"Uh, hey Sam. Cam called me."

"Oh. He did?"

"Can I come in?"

Soon, they were both sitting on the couch with identical cups of hot chocolate. Daniel was nervous. Sam was his best friend, someone he could talk about everything with, but this was a subject he had been avoiding for the past two months.

"Look, Sam. It doesn't take someone as smart as you to realize that you and Jack had 'special' feelings for one another. I know how hard that must have been for you."

She nodded.

"You know, I had thought that maybe we would have gotten together after he got transferred to Washington, but it never quite happened. I kept waiting, wondering, holding off my life. Now, I just don't know what to do."

"Well, look, I don't know how to quite bring this up, but Jack had left me a letter when he passed away. I really think that now would be a good time for you to read it."

He pulled from his back pocket a tattered envelop. The edges were worn down, and it was obvious that Daniel had read this over and over again. Hesitantly, he handed it over.

_Daniel,_

_Hey, Danny Boy. Look, you and I, we didn't get off to a very good start, did we? There were quite a few times in the beginning where you honest-to-God drove me absolutely bonkers. All-in-all, though, you grew to be one of my best friends. We shared some pretty rough times together, and there were quite a few times where I had thought that we had lost you. You were my go-to guy, more than I think most people even realized. Teal'c was great and all, but you always gave the best advice. So, now that I have passed from this world into whatever comes next, I am going to confide in you one last time._

_I know that you aren't stupid. You have to have seen the feelings emanating between Carter and I. She's really something, isn't she? I mean, you and I both know that there are countless times that we wouldn't have been alive if it hadn't been for her. I wasn't lying when I told her that one time that she was one of this world's natural resources. I won't lie, either. I loved her. I loved with all of my heart. However, there is a reason I never pursued that. For one, I am sixteen years her senior. I was driving a car in the year she was born, for pete's sake. I was always hoping that Carter would find someone to settle down and have a family with. She deserves it after all she's done, and believe me, I'm glad it wasn't that Pete fellow, but I also know that it wasn't me. I had been there, done that. That part of my life was over and done with (especially now, ey?) Plus, when you got down to the nitty-gritty, we just really didn't have all that much in common now, did we? I loved her, there is definitely no doubt in my mind, but we were so much better as friends. _

_I also know, however, that Sam might not feel this way. She might not understand. However, I still have my hopes that she will settle down and have that family. I bet I know who it's gonna be, too. You see, I am a keen observer. During the Ba'al extraction, I saw some glances that lasted a little too long, knowing smiles, yada, yada. No, don't worry, I'm not meaning you. But what do you think of that Cameron Mitchell? Hey, I don't know him well, but from what I know of him, he's one great guy. He's one hell of a soldier, that's for sure. You have to know that it breaks me heart to write this. There were many times when I wanted there to be something more between Sam and I, but I've come to realize that if she's not going to be with me, I wouldn't mind her being with that guy. Well, the truth is, I wouldn't mind her being with anyone who makes her happy, but you get the point. _

_Hey, kiddo, watch over her for me, will ya? Watch over yourself, as well. The world needs people like you in it. And always, always know that even though I gave you hell a lot, I had always respected you work and who you are._

_Sincerely,_

_Gen. Jack O'Neill_

She sat there in silence as the reality of his words hit her like a ten ton boulder. Daniel just nodded in knowing, and got up to leave knowing that she was going to be okay. As he stepped onto the front porch, he turned around to say one last thing.

"I know that I don't know everything, and I got short-changed when it comes to matters of the heart, but I think you know what your heart wants to do."


	3. Chapter 2

Cam couldn't get that kiss off of his mind. Why in the world had he been so _stupid_? He had always been so good at restraining himself, not showing his true feelings. He had hid his initial attraction to her on that day in the hospital room, her presenting him with the Congressional Medal of Honor. He had hid his jealous when he found out the feeling she had for her ex-CO. He never lingered to long or caught eyes with her for more than a second. It was just that their friendship had gotten so strong over the past two months. It had been getting harder and harder to disguise his true feelings, and there because a point in that type of situation where the heart does whatever it wants to despite what the head might be saying.

He was nursing his second beer when he heard the knock on the door. He wasn't expecting anybody. Heck, it was almost 2 a.m. The only reason that he was still up was the fact that the team had a week of down-time, and he was too pre-occupied to try to force himself to sleep. Grudgingly, he opens the door to what would be one of the biggest cliches of his life. There she stood, the one person he could not get out of his mind, sopping wet on his front door step. In all honesty, he hadn't even known it was raining outside...it wasn't raining incredibly hard...and it made him wonder just how long she had been standing out there before she worked up the courage to knock on the door.

"Sam, my god, come in. You must be _freezing_."

She couldn't move, her movements temporarily frozen. Instead, the well within her opened up again, and she burst into tears on his doorstep. Franticly, he pulled her into the warmth of the house. He half-way expected her to pull away, but instead, she fell into him, her head coming to rest upon his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Cam."

At a loss of what to do, he started gently tracing circles on her back with the palm of his hand.

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to apologize for crying."

"NO, not about that...it's just...well, you know...it's late isn't it? It's too late for me to be here. I don't know what I was thinking, but I was talking to Daniel and..."

"It is absolutely never too late for you to come talk to me. You know that. Day or night. You and I, well, we're gonna go sit over there on that couch, and you're gonna tell me just what you think you have to apologize for. But first, I think I have a dry pair of sweats that have your name on it."

As she emerged from the bathroom, he couldn't deny it...she looked absolutely stunning in his clothes. Again, he knew he shouldn't be thinking like that, but the mind has little place in matters of the heart.

"Come on and have a seat. I made you some coffee."

"Thanks."

For awhile, they just sat there drinking coffee. It appeared she needed some time to work up the courage to speak, and he knew better than to try to rush Samantha Carter into anything. That's the thing with close bonds...sometimes silence has its own set of rewards. Finally, though, she broke the silence with a simple statement that meant so much to her.

"I loved him, you know?"

"Yeah, I do."

"We worked side by side for eight long years...had been to hell and back, _literally_. Not to many people can claim that. We just kinda got one another, and we both knew how the other person secretly felt. He left a letter for Daniel, you know. He said how he felt we were better off as friends, but I know that his heart truly felt differently more times than not. Logically, yes, I couldn't help but agree with him, but emotionally, we were tightly bonded."

He just nodded. There are times when nothing a person says in going to be adequate, and to him, this was definitely one of those times. He just let her continue.

"I loved him so deeply, and I know that he loved me, too. I know that he loved me enough to want me to be happy. He always wanted me to have a life outside of base, to really enjoy living."

"I have no doubts about that, Sam."

She set down her coffee cup before grabbing his and setting it on the coffee table beside hers. He felt his heart jump a few beats when she unexpectedly took his hand. He also knew how nervous she had gotten.

"That's why I'm here, Cam. Jack will always hold a special place in my heart, and I can't guarantee that I will ever fully move on from the bond we shared, but I also know how you feel about me. I've known for a long time. I know you've tried to hide it in the past, but I'm not blind. The kiss that we shared in the park confirmed it. And yes, you do remind me of Jack...so much so that it hurts sometimes, but I realize now that the reason you remind me so much of Jack is because the feelings I had for him are echoed in the way I feel for you."

He felt like he was swallowing a tennis ball. The words got caught in his throat, and he was absolutely speechless.

"I guess it just took some encouragement from a past love to see the love that is starting to form in my heart for you."

This time, it was she who kissed him, and this time, neither one pulled away.


	4. Chapter 3

Cam thought that it was quite possible that he was dreaming. Never in a million years had he thought he would actually be sitting on the couch with Carter the way they were now, so connected and personal. He could feel the warmth radiating off of her; they were that close. So, yes, there was a good chance that he was dreaming, but if this was a dream, he definitely did not want to wake. That is, until she pulled away with tears in her eyes once more. _I knew this was too good to be true. _Although he was mildly disappointed, he knew he couldn't let her know that.

"Sam, if you don't want this, you don't want this, and that's okay."

"No, it's not that. Really, it's not. I promise."

"Look, come on, you and I both know that you're still grieving..."

"Well, yes, but no...it's not like that. I want to be here. It's just, there's still that part of me that can't help but think of how I never got the opportunity to be in this situation with _him_. You know, my brain is going a mile a minute, and I cant' stop thinking..."

He knew it was probably mildly inappropriate, but he couldn't help but start laughing. This, of course, shocked the hell out of her, and made her stop her sentence dead in her tracks.

"What?"

This made him laugh even harder.

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be laughing. The situation really isn't that funny, but I can't help but think that Jack told me this would happen."

She just continued to stare, fully expecting him to further explain. There was no doubt in her mind that if she stared long enough, he would be forced to continue, and it took a good five minutes before he broke down and pulled the letter out from the coffee table drawer and gave it to her.

_Lt. Colonel Mitchell,_

_Hey! I hope everything is going well for you at stargate command. I know it's a hard role, been there and done that, but it's worth it in the end. Lord knows that if I would have been given the chance, I would have done it all over again. Now, since you will no longer be able to call me up for advice, I'll give you some last minute reminders about the team I know._

_There's Daniel. Although I may have not always acted like it, that guy is one of my best friends. He may not have all the military experience of some, and he may drive me crazy sometimes, but I trusted him with my life in the field. He gets upset when you don't agree with something that he has set in his mind, but you have to remember that he means well. You also have to remember when to say 'no'. Also, don't be afraid to tell him to 'get to the point, already' whenever he's in charge of giving a briefing. Ugh, that man can talk. Still, that's what makes him the great man he is._

_There's Teal'c. Now, 'T' is my main man. He doesn't say much, but when he does, it's generally worth listening to. He will protect his team with his life, and he is the most honorable man I will ever know. With that said, it is important to make sure he doesn't step out of lines when he's out in public. He doesn't always understand that sticking up for people's welfare like he does will get him noticed. It majorly sucks, I know, but after all these years of his service to us, the IOA would still love to get their grubby little hands on him. Also, don't let people treat him like an alien. Come on, he's been living on Earth for this long; he's one of us. Plain and simple. _

_Last, but definitely not least, there's Carter. From the moment she stepped into that conference room on day one, I knew there was something special about her. Then, she had the nerve to say to me 'you know, you really will like me when you get to know me,' and I knew she was right. She's always right. What I wasn't counting on was falling in love with her. She always, always, had a special place in my heart. She's way smarter than you and I could ever hope to be, is fully capable of defending herself in combat, and has this glow about her that I can't explain, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Now, after my funeral, she's going to need support. I was the one who was always there for her in times like these, and now, I can longer be. Please, go over there and take care of her for me. Watch her 'six'. I say this to you, instead of Daniel or Teal'c, because I have this feeling about you. I remember that conversation we had back when I told you about your placement on SG-1, how you talked about her that day, not to mention every time we've talked since. I know you feel the same way about her that I did. I also know that, deep down, she feels the same way. Now, you two have the opportunity to take advantage of that situation. You are the same ranks, leading SG-1 as a team, and are not under each other's chain of command. However, I know Carter. Here's the thing with her. She thinks too much. She can never just sit back and let life take her for a ride. She always, and I mean always, has to analyze everything. I really hope you two young-ins give this relationship thing a try, but it won't be easy for you. She'll keep comparing it with her relationship with me. I bet you anything. However, this is what makes Carter who she is. It's part of the adorable part of her that makes you smile and laugh. Take care of her for me, will ya?_

_I wish you luck, kid. You remind me of me when I was younger. _

_Sincerely,_

_Gen. Jack O'Neill_

"You know, I have to say, Sam, for someone who acts so dumb-founded all the time, that man really knew what he was talking about."

"Yeah, that he did."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She looked down at the letter, looked back at him, and then back at the letter before tossing it back on the table. Then, she just this sweet little smirk on her face.

"You know, I think I'm going to take more advice from an old friend and not think about it for once."


End file.
